LTE & LTE-A Subscriptions to Exceed 430 Million by Year-end 2014,
According to ABI Research

August 13, 2014 10:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The growing appetite for on-the-go, real-time information and mobile
entertainment services will see the total number of subscribers for 4G
LTE and 4.5G LTE-Advanced grow to nearly 411 million and 22 million
respectively by year-end 2014. ABI Research’s 4G network deployment
tracker anticipates that 45 networks will have commercially launched
LTE-Advanced by 4Q 2014. Over 337 of the world’s mobile networks had
already deployed 4G LTE by the end of 2Q 2014. The evolution of LTE to
LTE-Advanced has seen the technology gain traction in regions like North
America and Asia-Pacific, with Western Europe trailing slightly behind
in subscriber numbers.

While there is some upgrade and replacement of LTE mobile devices from
the first wave of LTE adopters, a significant percentage of this year’s
mobile device shipments will still be to new LTE subscribers. ABI
Research estimates that nearly 482 million LTE handsets will be shipped
in 2014, up by nearly 150 million units from the previous year and
expects that number will grow to 1.34 billion by the end of 2019.

Global LTE network coverage is expected to cover more than 30% of the
world’s population by the end of 2014. In tandem with mobile operators
continuing to expand LTE coverage across all regions, operators such as
SK Telecom and LG U+ in South Korea are increasing the level of
competition. In a bid to lock down the most lucrative LTE customers,
both operators will be launching unlimited LTE data plans in 4Q 2014
featuring speeds of 300 Mbps through a 3-band carrier aggregation. Who
said the unlimited data plan is dead?

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of
trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From
offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team
of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and
advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com,
or call+1.516.624.2500.